Sharing The Gospel In Guyana

In late January of 2014, an international team of Gideons from the U.S. and British Isles traveled to Georgetown, Guyana to conduct a one-week International Scripture Blitz. The blitz was the response to a need to place Scriptures and win souls to the Lord in this South American country.

It was the first Scripture blitz to ever take place in Guyana since Gideons first organized there in 1958. And the local Gideons were very excited for the opportunity to share God’s Word in their homeland.

“The local team all had a great attitude and did a good job of planning and organizing this blitz,” says Richard Dishop, who served as the blitz team leader. “We had plenty of vehicles and manpower to do the work.”

Many of the local Gideons who participated in the blitz also serve as leaders in Guyana’s government. Their leadership was a tremendous help in getting the people and resources in place to help the blitz run smoothly.

“They had contacted the facilities and established Scripture locations throughout the city where we could go pick up the Scriptures in the morning and be ready to go,” says Dishop. “They had it all lined up.”

People Respond As They Hear The Gospel

God gave everyone on the team a chance to personally witness and lead people to the Lord.

One student the Gideons met was an inquisitive young lady named Arnell. They gave her a copy of God’s Word and led her through the plan of salvation. Then in her sweet voice, Arnell prayed the sinner’s prayer, asking Jesus to forgive her sins and enter her heart. Gideons then took the opportunity to connect the young lady with a Bible club on the campus. Please pray for Arnell as she begins her walk with the Lord.

Auxiliary (wives of Gideons) also served in the blitz, placing Scriptures in medical clinics and hospitals and distributing Scriptures to nursing professionals. The team was also able to present a Dignitary Bible to the Deputy Chief of Staff of Guyana.

A young woman named Sophie was the head of housekeeping in the hotel where the Gideons were staying. She accompanied Gideons as they placed Scriptures in the rooms, opening doors for them with her passkey. At the end of the placement, they asked Sophie, “Do you know what this book is that we’re placing in these rooms?”

“No,” she replied. A Gideon then responded to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to share the Gospel with the young lady. Upon hearing the message, Sophie gave her heart to the Lord.

Gideons met with the principal of the Carnegie School in Georgetown. She shared that many of the students were discouraged that their lives had not gone the way they had hoped, and they were now in this school learning a trade. She gathered all the students together and the Gideons shared about the New Testament, showing them the helps in the front. The Gideons then offered the students a chance to pray the sinner’s prayer and receive Christ. After leading the prayer, about 25 of the students raised their hands indicating they had just then accepted Christ as their personal Savior.

A Village Receives Some Of Its First Copies Of God’s Word

One of the distributions took place at an Amerindian reservation where there is a village with a population of about 100 people. The Gideons carried Scriptures from their boat up to a school on a hill where they made their distributions. That day, many children at the school received the first copy of God’s Word they had ever seen.

According to Dishop, families there did not have Bibles. In one school, 12 students and three teachers prayed to accept Christ as their personal Savior. The Lord also allowed them the opportunity to lead seven other people with one-on-one witnessing.

It was there that Gideons also met a young man named Tyrell. He had never seen a Bible. He had a concept of eternity, but he knew nothing about Christ. Gideons gave him a Scripture and began to tell him about Jesus. After hearing the Gospel, Tyrell prayed to receive Christ.

The village did not have a church. Hopefully they soon will, however. The Gideons encouraged Tyrell to start a weekly Bible study with the villagers, and he promised he would.

Dishop points out the significance of Gideons visiting villages like this. “Without the Gideons taking time to go, these people may never receive a Bible. Only eternity will tell how many others will come to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the placement of these Scriptures.”

Please pray that as they read these copies of God’s Word, other villagers will receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Gospel Melts The Heart Of An Ice Vendor

“Thank God I am just in time.” Those were the words printed on the cart of a water and ice vendor named Hansraj. He had cycled down a path to the school where Gideons were conducting a Scripture distribution. Once the lines of children who were purchasing water and ice had cleared out, Dishop engaged the vendor in a conversation and handed him a Personal Workers Testament. “If you were to die today, are you certain you would go to heaven?” Dishop asked him. Hansraj responded that no one could be certain of going to heaven, but if one lived a good life and helped others, it would improve the chances.

“I shared with him it was not what we did but what God had done for us in Jesus Christ, and only through His death and resurrection can we be forgiven and have the certainty we are saved from Gods punishment,” Dishop said.

Hansraj’s reaction indicated he wanted to know more, so Dishop shared the plan of salvation. It was then that Hansraj joyfully accepted Dishop’s invitation to pray to receive Jesus into his heart. Pray for Hansraj as he begins his new life in Christ.

God Blesses The Guyana Blitz Team

“What a blessing it was for me to go to Guyana lead this blitz,” says Dishop. He says some of the new Gideons who had been members only a few months were not only giving out Personal Workers Testaments but were leading others to the Lord one-on-one. “Consequently we gave out 1,268 Personal Workers Testaments that week, plus we had 46 people pray with us, one-on-one, to accept Christ as their personal Savior.”

At the conclusion of the blitz, more than 55,200 copies of God’s Word had been distributed to the people of Guyana. Gideons and Auxiliary had placed and distributed Scriptures in schools, universities, jails, hotels, hospitals and to military and police.

We thank the pastors, members, donors, and all other supporters of The Gideons International for their part in making Guyana’s 2014 International Scripture Blitz a success. And most of all, we thank and praise God for His faithfulness in blessing the event with open doors and open hands. We know His Word will not return void.